Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-03
UNCOyERING THE SPHINX.
Interesting Things Already
brought to Light.

brought to Light.
The last occasion on which the Great
Sphinx was cleared down to the level ON
which the pvws rest was in homer OF the
opening of the Suez Canal in 1867. The
ever.drlfting sands had, however, re-
buried it almost to the throat when
Professor Maspero, during the last year
Of Office at Boulak, began again the work
Of aisinterment. This work has now
been going on, somewhat Internationally,
for more than year, and is at the pres.
ent time in active progress under the
direction OF Professor Maspero's
succes sor, M. Grebaut. A tramway
has b. en- laid down from the Sphinx to
the edge of the pyramid plateau, passing
close under the west face of the gran.
ite building popularity, though incorrect.
ly, called the temple of the Sphinx.
Along this tramway light trucks convey
the sand to the point at which their con
tents are discharged, the trucks being
loaded by Arabs of both sexes and all
ages, who carry the sand upon their
heads in large fat baskets. as
cendiug and deceniing all day long
from the excavations below to the
tramway above, and vice versa.
The means look curiously mad
quate, but the results are astonish-
ing. Already the entire fore part of the
great stone monster Is laid bare, and
already the huge chest. the paws, the
spa CO between the paws. the altar in
front of them and the platform upon
which they rest are once more open to
,he lieht of day. Nor is this all. Be
tween the Sphinx and the edge of the
Pyramid plateau vast space has also
been cleared, thus bringing to view
fine flight of steps some forty feet in
width. These steps, which are de-
scribed by Pliny, were uncovered by
Caviglia in 1917, but have been
entirely lost to sight for nearly
seventy years. A second flight
of steps and the remains of two
Roman buildings we're also found by
Caviglia, and will again be brought to
light if M. Grebaut continues to work
in this direction.
To the right of the Sphinx-that is to
say, in the direction of the granite tenn
pie, to the southward-a further excava'
tion is in progress, the result OF which
will probably confirm the surmises OF
those who believe the Sphinx to stand
in the midst of huge artificial amphi-
theatre hewn out of the solid rock. This
gigantic work would of course be con-
temporaneous with the Sphinx itself,
which Mariette attributed to the mythic
ages before the advent of Mena, the
first king of the first dynasty, and which
Maspero considers to be, if not actually
prehistoric, at all events the Oldest
monument in Egypt.
From the level of the area below the
great fight of steps (which lead down
and not up to the Sphinx) one now meas.
ures the whole height of the huge
human headed monster, whose battered
countenance stands out against the
cloudless sky 100 feet above. The space
between the paws is thirty five feet long
and ten feet wide. This space was
anciently converted into a small
sanctuary lined with native tablets,
only one of which-the famous
stella of Thothmes IV.-yet re.
remains in stu. This stella records how
the King, when upon one of his hunting
expeditions, lay down to rest at midday
in the shadow of the SPHINX. He there
fell asleep and dreamed a dream in
which the venerable image conjured him
to clear away the sand in which it was
nearly buried. Then the Prince awoke
and "made silence in his heart" and
vowed to do that which the god had
commanded.
The paws of the Sphinx, as they now
| appear, are a restoration of Roman date,
being cased in comparatively small
slabs, and to some extent hollow under
meath. The breast of the Sphinx has
likewise been faced with slabs, appar.
emily in Roman times; and these slabs
have again been repaired by cutting
away the weathered surface and insert.
ing fresh facing. Like the legs of the
Colossi of the Plain, and those of the
great statues at Aboo Simbel, the paws
Of the Sphinx are covered with the
Greek scrawls of early travellers; but
these graffli are mostly of late period,
and SO sligntly scratched that few are
legible throughout. Such as they are,
however, Prof. Maspero has, it is under.
stood, devoted himself to the ungrateful
and difficult task Of translating them.
NJ. Giebaut's excavations are not linn
tied to the clearance OF the Sphinx only.
Various interesting tombs have lately
been discovered in the vicinity of the
great Pyramid, and to the westward the
face of the Libyan cliff has been reached
where it forms the natural boundary of
the Pyramid plateau. Some good early
rock cut tombs. with built fore. courts,
have been found in the face of this cliff,
ia two OF VIII ch the walled up recesses
or secret chambers, called "serdabs,'
which were constructed for the safe.
keeping of Itinerary portrait statues, fare
yet intact with their contents.-[L London
Times.